Drapery hook

ABSTRACT

Drapery hooks having safety means for hooking them on drapery rods or sliders of traverse rods in such manner as to preclude accidental disengagement of the hooks therefrom. In one form this is accomplished by a double loop arrangement; in another form by a finger and loop arrangement; and in still another form by a snap fastener which in some cases also comprises a double loop. In all forms the drapery hooks include one or more prongs for insertion or engagement into drapes or curtains near the upper margin thereof.

United States Patent Pizzurro Sept. 12, 1972 s41 DRAPERY HOOK 1,820,997 9/1931 Yeidel ..16/87.2

Inventor: Ri i ur o t 3, 1 73, l l Mlller C 63121 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS [221 File-d1 SePt- 1969 674,441 6/1952 Great Britain. 16/872 Appl. No.: 861,621

Primary Examiner-Bobby R. Gay Assistant ExaminerDarrell Marquette AttorneyKoenig,' Senninger, Powers and Leavitt [57] ABSTRACT Drapery hooks having safety means for hooking them on drapery rods or sliders of traverse rods in such manner as to preclude accidental disengagement of the hooks therefrom. In one form this is accomplished by a double loop arrangement; in another form by a finger and loop arrangement; and in still another form by a snap fastener which in some cases also comprises a double loop. In all forms the drapery hooks include one or more prongs for insertion or engagement into drapes or curtains near the upper margin thereof.

10 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to drapery hooks, and more particularly to such hooks which include means for preventing accidental disengagement of the hooks from the drapes or curtains.

A problem which has existed with prior drapery hooks is that they are prone to becoming accidentally disengaged from the drapery rod or the slides or sliders of a traverse rod when the drapes or curtains are disturbed by a breeze or someone brushing against them. This necessitates the considerable inconvenience of rehooking of the hooks in the slides. Also, with the conventional drapery hooks the curtain or drapery itself can be rather easily disengaged from the hook unintentionally causing further inconvenience.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Among the several objects of this invention maybe noted the provision of improved drapery hooks adapted effectively to remain hooked over the drapery rod or in the sliders of a traverse rod, despite accidental disturbance of the drapes hung therefrom, until it is desired to remove the hooks from the slides; the provision of such hooks which may conveniently be unhooked; the provision of such hooks which also prevent accidental disengagement of the drape from the hook; and the provision of such hooks which are economical to manufacture and convenient to use. Other objects and features will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.

In general, a drapery hook of this invention comprises a shank having at its upper end a downwardly open loop, and a second downwardly open loop or an upwardly extending arm extending from this loop. Means are provided extending from the-shank for engagement with a drape. An alternative construction comprises a shank terminating at its upper end by a downwardly open loop. A resilient latching finger extends upwardly from the lower end of the shank toward the free end of the loop for engagement therewith. The upper end of the latching finger preferably has a laterally extending portion at its upper end and means extend from the shank for engagement with a drape.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 6 is a perspective showing a fragmentary detail view of the catch portion of the hook of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is an elevation showing another modification ofthe FIG. 4 hook;

FIG. 8 is an elevation showing a further alternative hook construction;

FIG. 9 is an elevation of a portion of the FIG. 8 hook viewed across the plane 9-9 on FIG. 8; and

FIG. 10 is an elevation showing a modification of the FIG. 8 hook;

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to FIG. 1 of the drawings, there is indicated at 1 a first form of drapery hook of the present invention from a single piece of metal wire or formed from synthetic resin materials by molding, etc. It is shown engaged in the heading of a drape D with the hook applied to a slider S of a conventional traverse rod T. Hook 1, as illustrated, comprises a shank 3 with a first downwardly open loop 5 terminating the upper end of the shank. A second downwardly open loop 7 extends from the first loop and is generally in the same plane as the first loop. The second loop 7 is terminated by a downwardly extending lead-in finger 9, insertable in eye 11 of slider S when the drapery hook is pinned to the drape. A prong 13 extends upwardly from the lower end of the shank and in close proximity thereto, the transition between the shank and prong being a tight reverse bend 15. The prong 13 extends upwardly parallel to the shank and is engageable in the heading of the drape D as shown in dotted lines. It may be pointed at its upper end, as shown,for piercing the heading H, or it may have a rounded end for insertion into a pocket in the heading l-I. Because shank 3 and prong 13 are in close proximity the headingof the drape is gripped therebetween.

Since the center of gravity of the drape will be generally vertically below the point of contact of the hook with the drapery rod '.or slider, the heading H of the drape will be at a slight angle with respect to the remainder of the drape D; With deeper pleats, this angle will increase somewhat as the hook will rotate farther clockwise (when viewed as in FIG. I). The first downwardly open loop 5 subtends more than 180 so that even if the drape moves to cause the hook to rotate clockwise (as viewed in FIG. 1) the hook will not become disengaged from a drapery rod (not shown) or from eye 11 of the traverse rod slider S. Upon further drape movement which would tend to cause the hook to rotate more than 90, the top of the second loop 7 comes into contact with the slider above the eye preventing further rotation of the hook and precluding accidental disengagement from slider S. This is due to the second downwardly open loop 7 having a chord dimension somewhat greater than the height of the eye 11 of the slider S. As loop 7 subtends less than the drapery hook when pinned to drape D can be easily hooked into the slider by moving lead finger 9 and loop 7 through eye 11. Thus the drapery hook 1 when engaged in the drape is easily hooked to the slider or the drapery rod but will not be accidentally dislodged.

The junction 16 of the first and second downwardly open loops 5 and 7 comprise a tight reverse bend and portions of the loops adjacent the bend are in close proximity for a distance slightly less than the height of the opening of the eye 1 1 before the loops diverge. This permits passing the junction 16 through the eye 11 when the drapery hook is being hooked into the eye of the slider S and helps prevent accidental disengagement when the drape is disturbed.

FIG. 2 shows a modification of the FIG. 1 hook designated 17 in which the height of loops 7 and 5 are equal. By increasing the height of loop 7 with respect to that of loop 5 the top of loop 7 will contact slider S above eye 11 at a lesser angle of clockwise rotation than in the FIG. I hook and thus prevent further clockwise rotation. Otherwise hook 17 is essentially the same as the hook 1 except for the addition of means for engaging and retaining the upper end of the prong, comprising a lateral catch portion 19 constituted by a laterally open loop connecting shank 3 to the first loop 5 and adapted to receive the upper end of a prong 13a. After the latter has been inserted in the heading of the drape, prong 13a is moved from its dashed line or open position to its closed, latched, or solid line position. This provides a positive latch ,for securing the heading of the drape to the hook.

Hook 20, as shown in FIG. 3, is similar to hook 17, except that hook 20 has an arm 21 extending upwardly from the lower end of the downwardly open loop 50 instead of second loop 7 and the downwardly extending finger 9 of hook 17. The junction 22 of the downwardly open loop 5a and the upwardly extending arm 21 comprises a tight reverse bend so disposed that portions of loop 5a and the arm 21 are in close proximity for a distance slightly less than the height of the eye 11 of the slider S before the loop diverges from the arm. Such disposition of the arm 21 and loop 5a helps preclude disengagement of the hook and prevents excessive rotation as the arm will strike the slider S when hook 20 is rotated toward disengagement (clockwise as shown in FIG. 3) and yet allows hook 20 to be easily inserted into the eye 11 of the slider S when the hook is latched to the drape.

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate another embodiment of this invention as generally designated by numeral 23. It comprises a shank 24 terminated at its upper end by a first downwardly opening loop 25 and a connected second downwardly open loop 27 generally in the same plane as the first loop with the second loop subtending more than 180. A resilient latching finger 29 is coplanar with the shank 24 and the downwardly open loops 2S and 27. Finger 29 extends upwardly from its point of connection 31 at the lower end of shank 24. The upper end of the finger is normally biased into engagement with a catch 33 formed in the free end of loop 27. The upper end of finger 29 is terminated with a spur 35 extending laterally in the same plane as loop 27 so as to substantially close loop 27 when the finger 29 engages the catch 33 to preclude any disengagement of hook 23 from the drapery rod or eye of the slider S until finger 29 is depressed. When the finger 29 is pressed inwardly, the spur moves away from the catch 33 to provide an opening for hooking or unhooking the loop 27 to or from the slider or drapery rod. Loop 25 provides clearance for the spur 35 as finger 29 is pressed to open loop 27. Rotation of hook 23 on slider S more than a limited amount is prevented by spur 35 contacting the portion of slider S below the eye.

Instead of a single prong for engagement with the curtain or drape heading, this embodiment has several prongs which form a fork indicated generally at 37 for supporting the drape on the hook. These prongs are normally inserted into pockets in the heading of the drape to form a pleat. It is to be understood that any of the drapery hooks of this invention may be thus adapted to carry one or a plurality of prongs, depending on the type of drape being hung.

FIG. 6 shows an enlarged detail of one type of catch 33 which may be employed to hold the resilient latching finger 29 adjacent the free end of the loop 27 when the hook is of the snap fastener type. Catch 33 is formed by upsetting the free end of the downwardly open loop 27 to have a crescent shaped cross section.

Another form' of drapery hook is shown in F IG. 7 and designated generally at 39. Hook 39 comprises a shank 41, a first downwardly open loop 43 extending from the upper end of the shank subtending more than 180 and a second downwardly open loop 45 connected to and in the same plane as the first loop 43. A resilient latching finger 47 is coplanar with the shank and extends upwardly from a spiral loop 49 connecting the lower ends of shank 41 and finger 47. The upper portion of the latching finger engages a catch 51 formed by upsetting the free or terminal end of loop 45. At the distal end of resilient latching finger 47 is a tight closed loop 53. Hook 39 carries a single prong 54 for insertion into a pocket in the heading of the drape. The arrangement shown in FIG. 7 places the first loop 43 from which the hook hangs relatively near the drape, reducing the angular displacement of the heading with respect to the body of the drape. Having the second loop 45 7 so located alongside the first loop facilitates engagement of the hook with the eyelet of the traverse rod slider when the hook is pinned to the drape. The snap fastener type closure precludes accidental disengagement.

A further alternative hook construction is shown generally at 55 in FIGS. 8 and 9. Hook 55 is in the form of a snap fastener and includes a shank 57, a downwardly open loop 59, subtending more than 180 extending from the upper end of the shank 57 and a resilient latching finger 61 in the same plane as the shank 57 and connected thereto by a loop 63. Extending laterally upwardly from the upper end of the resilient latching finger is a flared generally flat portion 65 adapted to engage the free end of loop 59. Flat portion 65 is flared outwardly on both sides of the finger 61 making it wider than the lower portion of the finger and lies in a plane substantially perpendicular to a common plane including loop 59, shank 57 and the lower portion of the finger 61. Extending from the lower portion of the shank 57 is a prong 67 providing means for engaging the drape. It is to be understood that a latch arrangement such as prong 13a and lateral catch portion 19 may be employed instead of prong 67 to secure the heading of a drape or curtain to hook 55.

FIG. 10 illustrates at 69 a modification of drapery hook 55 shown in FIG. 8. Hook 69 is essentially the same as hook 55 except the free end of a downwardly open loop 71 is upset to form a catch 73 and the upper end of a latching finger 75 forms a spur 77 partially closing the opening of loop 71 when engaged with catch 73. The lower ends of shank 79 and latching finger 75 are interconnected via a spiral loop 81.

In the drapery hooks as shown in FIGS. 8 and 10 the laterally extending flared portion 65 and the spur 77 of the resilient latching fingers 61 and 75 limit the angular rotation of the hook and the snap fastener type arrangement precludes accidental disengagement of the hook from the traverse rod slider or drapery rod while at the same time permitting convenient application of 5 the hooks to the rod or the sliders.

These drapery hooks may be formed from metal wire' or made in whole or in part of synthetic resin or plastic materials which are easily formed and provide sufficient resilience and strength.

In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results attained.

As various changes could be made in the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

l. A drapery hook comprising a shank, a first downwardly open loop at one end of said shank constituting its upper end, said first loop being curved around in an arc throughout its entire extent from the upper end of the shank to the outer end of said first loop, a second downwardly open loop extending from said outer end of said first loop and having a free outer end, and means extending from the shank for engagement with a drape, the free outer end of the second loop being adapted for entry in the eye of a traverse rod slider and the second loop and then the first loop passed through said eye for hanging the hook from the slider by the first loop, the junction of the first and second loops at the outer end of the first loop and the inner end of the second loop comprising a tight reverse bend and portions of said loops adjacent said bend are in close proximity for a distance slightly less than the height of the opening in said eye before the loops diverge.

2. A drapery hook as set forth in claim 1 in which the engagement means comprises at least one prong extending upwardly from the lower portion of said shank, and in which said shank includes means near its upper end for engaging and retaining the upper end of the prong.

3. A drapery hook as set forth in claim 2 wherein the engaging and retaining means comprises a lateral catch portion disposed between the lower end of the shank and the first downwardly ope'n loop whereby the upper portion of the prong may be latched in the lateral catch portion.

4. A drapery hook comprising a shank, a first downwardly open loop terminating said shank at its upper end, a second downwardly open loop extending from said first loop, and means extending from the shank for engagement with a drape, one of said loops subtending at least a resilient latching finger ex tending upwardly from the lower end of said shank toward the free end of said second loop, and a catch at the free end of said second loop.

5. A drapery hook as set forth in claim 4 wherein the upper end of the latching finger extends laterally to partially close the opening of the second loop when engaged with said catch. I

A drapery hook as set forth in claim 5 wherein said upper end of the latching finger includes a spur adapted substantially to close the opening of the second loop when the latching finger is engaged with the catch.

7. A drapery hook as set forth in claim 5 wherein said upper end of the latching finger terminates in a tight closed loop.

8. A drapery hook comprising a shank, said shank being terminated at its upper end by a downwardly open loop at one side thereof, said loop having a free outer end spaced outwardly from said shank on said one side thereof, pin means extending upwardly beyond the top of said loop from the lower end of the shank on the opposite side thereof for engagement with a drape, and a resilient latching finger extending upwardly from the lower end of said shank on said one side thereof toward the free end of said loop for engagement therewith, the upper end of the latching finger having a laterally extending portion, said free outer end of said loop being adapted for entry in the eye of a traverse rod slider when said latching finger is pressed in toward said shank, said laterally extending upper end of the latching finger partially closing the opening of the loop when engaged with the free end of the loop.

9. A drapery hook as set forth in claim 8 wherein the upper end of the latching finger comprises a spur.

10. A drapery hook as set forth in claim 8 wherein the upper end of the latching finger is generally flat and wider than the lower portions of the finger and lies in a plane substantially perpendicular to a common plane including the loop, the shank and the lower portions of the finger. 

1. A drapery hook comprising a shank, a first downwardly open loop at one end of said shank constituting its upper end, said first loop being curved around in an arc throughout its entire extent from the upper end of the shank to the outer end of said first loop, a second downwardly open loop extending from said outer end of said first loop and having a free outer end, and means extending from the shank for engagement with a drape, the free outer end of the second loop being adapted for entry in the eye of a traverse rod slider and the second loop and then the first loop passed through said eye foR hanging the hook from the slider by the first loop, the junction of the first and second loops at the outer end of the first loop and the inner end of the second loop comprising a tight reverse bend and portions of said loops adjacent said bend are in close proximity for a distance slightly less than the height of the opening in said eye before the loops diverge.
 2. A drapery hook as set forth in claim 1 in which the engagement means comprises at least one prong extending upwardly from the lower portion of said shank, and in which said shank includes means near its upper end for engaging and retaining the upper end of the prong.
 3. A drapery hook as set forth in claim 2 wherein the engaging and retaining means comprises a lateral catch portion disposed between the lower end of the shank and the first downwardly open loop whereby the upper portion of the prong may be latched in the lateral catch portion.
 4. A drapery hook comprising a shank, a first downwardly open loop terminating said shank at its upper end, a second downwardly open loop extending from said first loop, and means extending from the shank for engagement with a drape, one of said loops subtending at least 180*, a resilient latching finger extending upwardly from the lower end of said shank toward the free end of said second loop, and a catch at the free end of said second loop.
 5. A drapery hook as set forth in claim 4 wherein the upper end of the latching finger extends laterally to partially close the opening of the second loop when engaged with said catch.
 6. A drapery hook as set forth in claim 5 wherein said upper end of the latching finger includes a spur adapted substantially to close the opening of the second loop when the latching finger is engaged with the catch.
 7. A drapery hook as set forth in claim 5 wherein said upper end of the latching finger terminates in a tight closed loop.
 8. A drapery hook comprising a shank, said shank being terminated at its upper end by a downwardly open loop at one side thereof, said loop having a free outer end spaced outwardly from said shank on said one side thereof, pin means extending upwardly beyond the top of said loop from the lower end of the shank on the opposite side thereof for engagement with a drape, and a resilient latching finger extending upwardly from the lower end of said shank on said one side thereof toward the free end of said loop for engagement therewith, the upper end of the latching finger having a laterally extending portion, said free outer end of said loop being adapted for entry in the eye of a traverse rod slider when said latching finger is pressed in toward said shank, said laterally extending upper end of the latching finger partially closing the opening of the loop when engaged with the free end of the loop.
 9. A drapery hook as set forth in claim 8 wherein the upper end of the latching finger comprises a spur.
 10. A drapery hook as set forth in claim 8 wherein the upper end of the latching finger is generally flat and wider than the lower portions of the finger and lies in a plane substantially perpendicular to a common plane including the loop, the shank and the lower portions of the finger. 